


The Butterfly Effect

by gutsandglitter



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-19
Updated: 2013-04-19
Packaged: 2017-12-08 22:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/766566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gutsandglitter/pseuds/gutsandglitter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when she thought he was out of her life for good, he'd waltz right back in with his scruffy face, his incredible talent, and his way of getting at her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Butterfly Effect

Danny leaned back into the sofa cushions and sighed contentedly. “Best orange chicken I’ve ever had, and I’ve been to the Hunan province.”

CJ snorted and took a sip of her beer before setting it down and curling herself into his side. “Oh, have you been to China? It’s been a full five minutes since you’ve mentioned it, I’d almost forgotten.”

He ruffled her hair. “Oh come on, the first thing that attracted you to me, besides my devastatingly good looks, was the fact I’m an international man of mystery.”

This made CJ cackle loudly, the happy sound resonated throughout her apartment. 

As she snuggled closer to Danny, CJ thought back to her meeting earlier that day with a man from the EPA. He had been going on an on about this research trip to Brazil he had just gotten back from. He and his team had been hunting an endangered type of butterfly that hadn’t been seen in six years. The team had been unsuccessful, but he remained hopeful.

“If no one’s seen it in six years and a trained team of researchers couldn’t find it, why not just call it extinct and move on?” she asked.

The researcher smiled and shook his head. “In the past twenty years it’s been put on the extinct species list three separate times. Each time, within six months of the list’s re-publication, there was a documented sighting of one or two of them. Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

She looked up at Danny, who seemed to be nodding off. They could go a whole year without seeing each other, but then he would show up in the press room with his scruffy face and his pain-in-the-ass questions and it would be like no time had passed at all. They would fall back into this thing they had, whatever it was, and for a while everything would be okay. 

Tonight had been no different. Danny was in town for the week on assignment, CJ had managed to get off work at a somewhat reasonable hour (10pm). They’d gotten Chinese and come back to CJ’s apartment. Casablanca was on tv, and they had spent the evening catching up and gorging themselves on orange chicken. 

They were that stubborn species of endangered butterfly.

She grinned as she thought this, Danny opened his eyes and looked down at her. He gave her that smile she liked to think he reserved for her, that easy slow smile with just the hint of a twinkle in his eye. He bent down and kissed her softly, tangling his fingers in her hair. She sat up a little, wrapping her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss, gently pushing his tongue past her lips to explore her mouth. He tasted of orange chicken and beer and…Danny. 

Keeping their lips locked, she maneuvered herself so she was straddling his lap. She traced her fingers down his strong chest, eliciting a small moan from deep in his throat.

As he began to unbutton her shirt, a small thought flicked its way through her conscious. 

Those butterflies will die eventually, a small voice said in the back of her mind. One day they’ll be put on that extinct species list and they won’t be taken back off. 

Danny tore his lips away from hers and began kissing his way down her throat, and any thoughts of insects promptly made themselves scarce.


End file.
